Here in the mountains we’ve been loving the sunny weather that May has brought us. We’re savoring the longer evenings perfect for cocktails and reading a good book with the window open. Though we’re itching for summer to be in full swing, we do love the feeling of possibility that comes with the last full month of spring.
There’s so much happening in these warmer months of the year, including two exciting new releases from clients Lauren Yero and Meagan Lucas. Read more on both these fabulous humans below.
We’re thrilled to be featuring the incredible Jacqui Castle in this newsletter with two writing exercises for lingering a bit longer on the page. Give her some love if you enjoy these exercises as much as we did.
And we round out this edition with some of our favorite recent and upcoming Children’s, Middle Grade, and Young Adult book picks in honor of Children’s Book Week last week. So many amazing kid lit titles for you or the young readers in your life to enjoy!
Stay well and thanks for keeping up with Gold Leaf. We appreciate you so much.
Lauren, Caroline, and the Gold Leaf team
Jacqui Castle on When to Linger
We have all read scenes in stories where we linger in a brief, emotional moment for a character, creating a feeling of deep connection and investment. This moment could be something positive, such as a first kiss, or something traumatic, like an accident or the death of a loved one. Conversely, we have also read pages in stories covering a considerable period of time quite quickly, leaping from one event to the next until a year has passed in a few paragraphs.
Knowing when to linger and when to leap, or how to manipulate time effectively in fiction, can be challenging. Below are two practice exercises that I have used with students recently, and am sharing with you so you can try your hand at manipulating time in your own work.
Exercise 1: Dive deep into a particular moment and stretch it out as long as possible. Use descriptive language, sensory details, and introspection to slow the pace and linger, telling us exactly what your character is feeling and experiencing. Aim to fill an entire page (approximately 300 words) with an experience that would only take a few minutes in real life. Lingering allows readers to inhabit your character, share their experiences, and relate more deeply.
Exercise 2: Summarize a more extended period, such as an entire day or year, in just one page (approximately 300 words). This could be done using time jumps to skip less eventful periods or as a recap of the most impactful moments of this time span for your character.
Jacqui Castle is an educator and novelist living and writing in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. Her novel The Seclusion, which School Library Journal called "A must-have for all libraries and fans of scifi," garnered Castle the title of 2020 Indie Author of the Year through the Indie Author Project. She teaches creative writing through the Great Smokies Writing Program as well as The Redbud Writing Project.
Jacqui is also the owner of the Lit Local Mini Bookshops, a business recently launched to bring the work of local authors into area establishments. You can currently find Lit Local Mini Bookshops at Filo in E. Asheville, PennyCup Coffee in Haw Creek, Bluebird Bubble Tea on Sweeten Creek Road, and Gallivant Coffee in Woodfin. To learn more about Lit Local, and to see how you can become involved with bringing more local reads to Asheville establishments, visit LitLocalBooks.
The Seclusion by Jacqui Castle
Spotlight on Meagan Lucas
Our fabulous client, Meagan Lucas will have the cover of her brand new collection of short stories Here in the Dark revealed on Friday, May 19 at 8pm Eastern on Papercuts podcast. Papercuts is hosted by Brad Proctor and J. Grell with guest host Laurel Hightower on this episode. You can find out more at the link below.
Here in the Dark
publishing 7/14/23
Q&A with Lauren Yero
We loved these answers from a recent Class of 2k23 newsletter that Lauren was featured in and wanted to share them with our audience as well. Class of 2k23 is a group of YA and MG authors whose books debut in 2023. Check them out to support them!
Why do you think young readers will connect with your book’s environmental message?
It’s all about the characters! I think young readers will connect with Rumi and Paz and their harrowing journey right away. But my hope is that questions about what we owe one another in a climate-changed world will stick with readers long after they’ve finished the novel.
Why did you write a YA novel that deals with with climate change?
Climate change is a reality that young readers live with every day, but it's not often talked about at home or at school. I wanted to write a book that didn't shy away from the hard realities of the climate crisis but that also felt empowering and hopeful. I think stories that deal with this issue head-on—especially stories that offer a message of hope—can open young readers' minds to all kinds of possibilities as they think about the future.
Under This Forgetful Sky
publishing 7/18/23
Kid Lit Picks for Children’s Book Week
We’re a few days late in our celebration of Children’s Book Week which was May 1st-7th this month, but we wanted to share our recent favorite children’s literature picks to share the love!
Art for Kids: Advanced Drawing
by Kathryn Temple
Give This Book Away!
by Darren Farrell
Story Quilts: Appalachian Women Speak
by Shannon Hitchcock
Pepita Meets Bebita
by Ruth Behar
publishing 9/12/23
Giving Thanks
by Denise Kiernan
Island of Spies
by Sheila Turnage
Two Degrees
by Alan Gratz
Bring Me Your Midnight
by Rachel Griffin
publishing 8/1/23
Hex You
by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Upcoming Events
Greensboro Bound Literary Festival
May 18th - 20th
Lauren Yero Live on Instagram
May 18th at 8pm Eastern
Meagan Lucas at the Amesville Writers’ Workshop
June 8th - 10th
Have a bookish event coming up? Email us at theteam@goldleafliterary.com to share your news!